The present invention relates in general to railway (and tram) tracks and has the purpose of providing a support device that can be applied to rails of the said tracks with the aim of making available useful and practical functions, of course without affecting in the least either the operation or the maintenance of the railway track itself.
More in particular, the subject of the invention is a support device for rails of railway (and tram) tracks that include sleepers set at intervals apart and in which said rails have flanges fixed to said sleepers, where the said device may be applied to already existing rails, at the side of the rail along one side of the track, or even within the track itself, in a simple, fast and convenient way, and without any need to intervene on the connection between rails and sleepers, so as to serve as a support for service devices chosen from among a plurality of possible options.
A further object of the invention is to provide a support device that can be applied to rails of railway (and tram) tracks which has a simple, inexpensive, and sturdy structure, as well as being designed to guarantee maximum safety as regards static and dynamic loads during use.
According to the invention, the above objects are achieved by providing a support device for applications of the type specified above, the basic characteristic of which lies in the fact that it includes a bracket having parts for attachment to a rail on either side of a sleeper, a resting part intended to rest on the sleeper, said part being spaced from said attachment parts, and mechanical connection means for connecting said attachment parts to the flange of the rail.
Conveniently, said fixing means include clamp members for both sides of the flange of the rail.